20-year-old man brought back to Ukraine from occupied territories and reunited with his sister

A 20-year-old young man has been brought back to Ukraine from Russian-occupied territories. The young man finally met his sister, who had escaped from occupation.

Source: Bring Kids Back UA initiative

Details: The young man lived in a village that came under Russian occupation in the early days of the full-scale invasion. Since then, his family's life has been one of constant pressure and humiliation, according to human rights activists.

"The occupiers forced them to apply for Russian passports and other documents, threatening them with punishment. To obtain the documents, the family was forced to travel to Crimea several times, where they felt defenceless against the lawlessness," the statement said.

The boy's sister managed to escape to territory controlled by Ukraine. It was becoming increasingly dangerous for the young man to remain under occupation: there was less and less freedom, and the threat of mobilisation was growing.

"During one of his trips to Crimea, he saw how the Russians were destroying historical monuments and turning them into distorted copies. Then he realised that staying there meant losing not only his freedom but also his own identity," the volunteers say.

Thanks to the help of the Ukrainian Child Rights Network and the Humanity initiative, the young man took a difficult but safe route and was able to leave the occupied territories. Today, he is with his sister in Ukraine, where he is receiving the necessary assistance.

Background: Earlier, Ukraine returned a large group of children who had lived under occupation for more than three years from the occupied territories. There, they had to endure oppression, coercion and the imposition of Russian propaganda.

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